A Santa and Her Reindeer
by TigerDemonX52
Summary: Lucy's in the spirit of giving, not just to her friends, but everyone in Magnolia. Miss Claus thinks she can handle it, but is she biting off more than she can chew? Slight Nalu. Christmas one-shot.


**Hello all! I know I'm supposed to be working on my other story... but it's Christmas, so I honestly couldn't help myself. I had to write a Christmas story of some sort :). Just a warning; it may have lots of mistakes 'cause I just finished it ten minutes ago and I'm too tired to edit. But crappy or not (hopefully not) I hope you enjoy it. This is my present to all of you for being so awesome! Merry Christmas everyone! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the single line of lyrics in this fic!**

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><p><em>December 24<em>_th_, Lucy thought as she lay underneath her warm, bright pink comforter. The grey winter sky greeted her through her window and without even going to the trouble of sitting up, she already knew that there was a fair amount of snow on the ground outside.

She smiled. _Perfect._

Excited for the day she had ahead, she sprung to her feet, her light blue cotton pajamas rustling around as she did so. With an uncharacteristic skip in her step for being awake so early in the morning, she made her way over to the music lacrima on her dresser, switching on the music that could only be played during this joyous time of year.

"Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock," she sang, throwing open her closet door and rummaging through the endless supply of clothes for anything of the colors red, green and white.

Once she was showered, dressed and seated at her table for breakfast, she pulled out a long, rolled up piece of paper. Placing the mentioned scroll onto the table, she carefully unrolled it and stared at the list before her. She had everything she needed right? What was she still missing?

_Erza? Six strawberry cakes. Check. Gray? New sparing dummy. Check. Cana? Booze. Check. Mira? New issue of Matchmakers Weekly. Check. Happy? A fish bigger than me. Check. Natsu-_

"Hey Lucy!"

She screamed, albeit probably louder than she should have, but seriously, would it have freaking killed him to use the door like a normal person?

Scrambling to get the list off of the table and hide it securely in her purse, she had mere milliseconds before her pink-haired companion barreled straight into her kitchen. The most destructive member of Fairy Tail skidded to a halt inches from her freshly replaced table and grinned the cheerful grin that only he could.

_Check. _

Lucy would've sighed in relief if she didn't think he would catch it, so instead she smiled back.

"Good," he started. "You're up." He cupped his hands behind his head as his blue, furry partner came flying in behind him.

"Hey!" Happy yelled, his face the picture of shock. "We didn't have to wake Lushi up!" Perched on Natsu's head, he looked down to make eye contact. "Natsu, she's acting funny."

_Please stop talking Happy_, Lucy thought frantically as she fought to keep the panic out of her tone.

"What's wrong?" She shrugged nonchalauntly, dismissing the statement. "A girl can't wake up early?"

Happy shook his head. "Not you, Lucy. You sleep like a forest Vulcan, and you look like one too."

_Tell me again why I'm doing something for this feline out of the goodness of my own heart? Oh yeah, the spirit of giving._

"Well anyway," Natsu piped up. "Let's go!"

"Go?"

"To the guild, duh," he clarified, gripping his stomach. "Hurry up 'cause I'm starving!"

"Um, actually Natsu," Lucy began, wondering how she should word this. "I'm not going to the guild today."

His head tilted to the side like he was confused puppy. "But we always go to the guild in the morning."

"I know," She sighed. "But I promised Levy that I'd finish up my novel for her before Christmas and I was going to spend the whole day working on it." That wasn't exactly a lie, the finished product was indeed Levy's present, but the fact that she had finished it two days ago was irrelevant.

Natsu visibly deflated as did Happy. "Aw…," the pinkette pouted. "That's no fun."

Putting a hand on his back and quickly beginning to usher him out of her apartment, Lucy nodded her agreement to him. "Sorry guys," she said regretfully. "But I'll be there for the guild Christmas party tomorrow; I promise."

"But-"

He was cut off as Lucy literally shoved him out of her second story window. "See you guys later!"

Shutting the glass and making sure she locked it, she waited until her friends were out of sight before she flew to the underside of her bed. Clutching one hand to her chest, she let out a full breath of pure relief, as the other hand dug around under her bedframe.

"That could've ruined everything," she said to herself, yanking out two, large, simi-squished sacks, both nearly filled to the brim. She then pulled her list back out, unrolling it in the air, the bottom potion uncoiling across her floor. "I don't know what I would've done if they found this."

Lucy scanned the expansive list once again, making sure that she had gotten everything she needed for Christmas Eve. It had taken her since _last_ Christmas to make the damn thing, but if she could pull off what she was planning for tonight, then it would all be worth it. The members of the guild only made up about a quarter of the list and once she made sure her family was taken care of, she turned her attention to the rest of Magnolia.

Finally, she sighed again; she was _still_ missing a few things. Oh well, at least she had made sure to put away enough money from each mission to not cause serious financial ruin.

She rolled the list back up, placed it back into her bag, and threw her white winter jacket on over her red t-shirt. Checking herself in the mirror one last time, she smiled to her reflection. "Let's do some shopping."

* * *

><p>Lucy shivered and hugged herself as the arctic wind blew around her. Even though she really wasn't a big fan of the cold, she still found herself drawn to the Christmas holiday; it was definitely one of her favorites.<p>

Contrary to popular belief, she found the season more about giving than receiving. Maybe it was because she grew up having nearly anything she could ever want, but she had realized somewhere that she didn't need any of those things. Don't get her wrong, she loved receiving the occasional gift like anyone would, however... if she had to choose…

A little girl in a bright green coat raced past her, giggling in that joy filled way that only kids were capable of. She loved hearing laughs like that.

_Krista_, Lucy thought to herself, her mind getting off of the cold by running down her memorized list. _Teddy bear with a 'make a wish' gem heart. _She grinned. _Check._

A boy caught her eye next. He sat outside of the Magnolia candy shop, his face the picture of sadness as he stared with longing into the bright, warm window.

Lucy stared at him before patting her pockets. She knew she had one somewhere…ah! Pulling a small red and white candy cane out of her jacket, she leaned down and showed it to the boy, her own smile growing along with his.

"Here." She handed him the treat and his eyes were sparking. "Take it, I promise it won't bite."

He took it and immediately stuck it into his mouth, the satisfied grin on his face making Lucy chuckle. Yup, she would definitely choose giving.

_Zack_, she thought. _Candy; lots and lots of candy. Check._

"Thanks, Lucy!" the boy called after her as she continued her walk down the street.

"No problem," the cheerful blonde replied. "Merry Christmas!"

A few minutes later, Lucy's destination finally came into view and she wasted no time, sprinting through the front doors underneath the sign reading, "Chrisendo's Flowers".

The shop was warm, and the teen allowed her now numb body to thaw a bit before she continued through the merchandise. Holiday wreathes of every shape, size and color hung all along the walls, the ground left for the display of celebratory flowers in red and white.

"Hello, may I help you?"

Lucy turned to the front counter where an older woman was standing. Her outward features showed all the signs of tiredness yet the grin on her wrinkled face only showed the same joy and happiness as the kids Lucy had just seen.

"Yes," She answered politely. "Could I get a bouquet of these white ones here?" She gestured to a large pot of pure white daisies. Though unlike normal ones, the center of the flowers were a sparkling silver. The light reflected off of them and it reminded the girl of snow falling to the ground.

"Sure thing, hun," the lady smiled. "Some snow daisies coming right up." Lucy watched as the woman walked over and began to skillfully cut away at the stems. "So who are these for?" She asked mischievous glint in her eyes. "A special someone?"

Lucy was taken aback and stammered, "N-No! It's nothing like that!" Her hands waving around in front of her face.

The woman chuckled, making her way back to the counter with the flowers. "Oh, relax, dear. I'm just teasing you. Besides," she raised a grey eyebrow. "Your boyfriend should be the one buying you flowers, hm? Not the other way around."

A healthy blush coated Lucy's cheeks. "I don't have a boyfriend," she insisted. "These are for a little girl in town."

"Ah, I see," she laughed as she prepared the wrapping. "Well, I wouldn't count out possibilities. After all, Christmas is a time for getting closer to the ones you love."

Her blush now dying down a bit, Lucy stared at the working woman. Now that she had a closer look, she seemed almost…sad. "You're Mrs. Chrisendo right?" She asked out of the blue.

"Yes," the woman smiled. "I am. Why?"

Lucy shook her head. "No reason, I just could tell because you're very skilled with flowers."

"Thank you, dear."

"Say…," Lucy continued. "If you could have anything for Christmas, what would it be?"

For a brief moment, Mrs. Chrisendo halted in her movement, but then caught herself and continued to de-leaf the stems. "Why do you ask?"

"Just making conversation."

"Hm," she mused. "Then I guess I would have to say… a cake."

Lucy's eyebrows flew up. "A cake?"

"Mmhm," she hummed. "But not just any cake; a red velvet one with cream cheese icing and sugar snowflakes sprinkled about the top."

"Wow," Lucy breathed. "So specific…"

"Yes," Chrisendo chuckled, finishing off the bouquet with a red ribbon to hold it together. "I want one just like the one my late husband got for me before he…well, I won't bore you with the details, dear."

"Oh…," Lucy whispered. "I'm so sorry."

The woman smiled, her face lighting up with warmth. "It's alright. Here."

She handed Lucy the flowers and all the girl could do was stutter, "How much?"

"No charge."

"Huh?"

"Take them as a thank you for listening to an old woman's rambling." Mrs. Chirsendo took one of Lucy's hands in hers. "I insist, dear. Merry Christmas."

* * *

><p>Back at her apartment, Lucy was just finishing up weaving a crown out of the flowers she had just bought. Placing the beautiful ring down next to her on the floor, she skimmed her list for the hundredth time that day.<p>

_Crystal_, she thought, finally finding her name. _Snow daisy crown for a snow princess._ Lucy wrote an x next to it. _Check._

"Ugh," she groaned, flopping onto her back, already exhausted. "Finally done."

It was a quarter to nine at night already. Where did the day go? She would have to pack up and head out soon.

Forcing herself to her feet, the teen made her way to the kitchen and pulled a red box out of her fridge. Sighing, she really hoped that it would be alright. She had never made a red-velvet cake before, and finding the sugar snowflakes were a pain in the ass…but she had worked all day, burnt two test runs and almost didn't make it.

Lucy just really hoped everyone would like their gifts.

"Okay," she said aloud, trying to pump herself up for the long night ahead of her. "You can do this, Lucy. You've already gone this far, no chickening out now."

Putting the box back where she found it, she rushed back to her closet to yank a dress off of the hanger and throw it on. It was strapless and only came down to about her mid-thigh, the entire article of clothing was red except for the trimmings along the top and bottom which were white like the snow daises. Sliding long, also red gloves up her arms, Lucy took the initiative to grab the ribbon from the bouquet of flowers and use that to tie her hair into her signature side pony tail. To top it off, she strapped on her brown knee boots and put on the traditional Santa hat.

Her confidence grew as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was probably going to freeze her butt off, but damn she looked cute.

"Goodbye, Lucy Heartfilia; Hello, Miss Claus."

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><p><em>Yup, definitely regretting my choice in outfit<em>. Lucy could barely hear herself think over her chattering teeth as she sat perched on the roof of her apartment building. _And dear Mavis, please keep me from plummeting to my death_, she begged. _I'm not ready to die yet._

Taking in a shaky, icy cold breath to calm her nerves, she couldn't help one thing popping into her mind. _I wonder what everyone is doing right now…_ But no sooner had she thought that, that she was shaking her head vigorously. _No, Lucy_, she reprimanded herself. _There's no time to be lonely; let's get to work._

With that, she gripped the handle of her whip in one hand and one of the huge sacks in the other. Staggering a bit under its weight, she recovered her balance and lashed her whip around the thick cables between the city's buildings. They were put up initially to hang lacrimas from as decoration, however, tonight they would just have to serve as her form of getting around.

Swallowing the last bit of fear rising to the surface, she stepped off of the roof. On her first swing, she almost didn't make the jump, but fortunately after getting her bearings, she began to get the hang of it. It was also a good thing that all of those extra missions helped her develop more strength in her arms; the freaking sack weighed a ton!

By the time she had reached the first home, all of her fear and doubt was replaced with an almost uncontrollable excitement. Checking her list and digging in her bag for the assigned gift, Lucy was giddier than the receiving child probably would be in the morning. Pulling her hand out of the bag, the small, brown eyes of a teddy bear glinted up at her in the limited light of the street.

Lucy carefully leaned over the roof's edge to reach the child's window ledge below. The red, heart-shaped pendant around the bear's neck flashed in the light like a good-bye as she quietly creaked the glass open and placed it just inside.

_One down, about another two-hundred to go._

Then she grabbed her sack, and swung over to the next roof to repeat the process again.

Lucy couldn't explain what she was feeling. It was as if she was a child again, receiving the greatest present she could ever get in her lifetime, yet she wasn't getting anything material. A present that no one could see, that no one could touch, and because no one could touch it, no one could take it away from you. But you sure as hell could feel it.

One by one, the toys, _her_ toys that she had crafted herself, left her possession and were united with their true owners. And so that feeling only grew stronger, fueling her to keep going because after all, good children needed their rewards.

As she swung from house to house, the once chilling, December air became a comfort to her. It began to make her feel revived, light-hearted, joyful… alive. She hadn't felt that way since she had found her current home.

Houses flew by and before Lucy realized it, the pitch black sky was beginning to turn a blue hue.

"No…," She whispered, freezing in place on the rooftops. _No! Not yet!_

Her eyes widened in horror and they fell on the other half of the list she didn't even get to yet. She wasn't going to make it, and that realization caused panic to surge up within her chest. Her mind raced, realizing that the other sack with the rest of the presents was still at her apartment all the way across the city.

_No…_ Lucy could feel her knees getting weak and she bit her lip in distress. _I didn't make it; I failed._ Her hands began to tremble, and just when tears were about to make their way down her face-

"Hey, why'd ya stop?"

The blonde Santa gasped, swinging around only to come face to face with her best friend; her partner. "Natsu?" She breathed, her eyes still swelling with unshed tears. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned; that giant, toothy grin that always seemed to instantly calm Lucy's nerves. "Giving you this." Reaching behind his back, he huffed something over his shoulder and threw it down at her feet.

The tears finally spilled over. It was the second sack of gifts.

Lucy cupped a hand over her eyes and asked shakily, "How did you know?"

Natsu shrugged. "Went back to your place but you weren't there, so I looked around and found this. I followed your scent." He scratched the back of his head. "But when I found you, you looked like you were having fun so…"

"You stalked me all night?"

He frowned. "No I-"

"Thank you." Lucy's sudden show of gratitude stopped the dragon slayer cold and he watched with wide eyes as his best friend crumbled before him. "Thank you Natsu for bringing this to me, but it's too late; I failed. I thought I could deliver all of the gifts on my own by morning, but it seems that what I want to do and what I actually can are two different things."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that you're not on your own, huh?"

Lucy jerked her hand away from her face to see Gray, Happy and Erza all stepping up from behind Natsu. "Guys…," she whispered.

"You just need to deliver all these gifts by the time the sun comes up right?" Gray asked. "Then count us in."

"But guys-"

"But nothing," Erza cut in, her voice authoritative yet a childish grin was spread across her face. "You need our help, so we are going to help you, end of discussion."

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

To say Lucy was torn would be an understatement. She needed the help, yet this was her plan to begin with and she bit off more than she could chew. She didn't feel like it was fair to her friends.

Before she could open her mouth to protest further, Natsu picked the sack back up and pulled out the crown of snow daisies. "Which house does this go to?" When she didn't answer for a few seconds, he said firmly, "Lucy."

Finally she sighed in defeat. "That's Crystal's," she recited from memory. "Her house is the one on the corner."

Natsu's grin returned and just before he leapt off of the roof he turned back to her. "Sure thing, Miss Claus."

Immediately after Natsu left, Gray lunged for the bag and pulled out another toy. "We're here because we want to be," he told her. "So you just tell us where to go. We'll be your reindeer."

Lucy was speechless, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, she really shouldn't have been. These were the type of people Fairy Tail mages were.

"Thank you."

With Lucy now conducting them where to go, Fairy Tail's strongest team fanned out. They each grabbed a toy, and would return when it was delivered to repeat the process again. As seconds ticked by, they turned into minutes and with each passing minute, the sky was getting brighter and brighter.

Exhausted and panting heavily as she swung from roof to roof, Lucy raced on the last bit of energy she had left. But then, just as the sun was about to pierce the horizon, Natsu walked up to her and spoke six magical words, "This is the last one, Lucy."

Her eyes widened, her jaw went slack, and she would've started crying again if it wasn't for the box Natsu was holding in his hands. "I'll take it," she told him, picking the red box from his fingers. "This one… needs to be delivered by my hands."

Lucy, with the aid of her friend, got down from the roof top and began walking over to the front door of the closed flower shop. Hoping the content of the box wasn't too badly shaken, she pulled the ribbon from her hair and with trembling fingers wrapped it securely around the gift.

* * *

><p>"So…freaking…tired," Lucy moaned, flopping face first onto her bed. The soft comforter beckoned her into the world of dreamland upon contact.<p>

Natsu swung through her window after her, and if he was feeling any tiredness at all from the night before, he definitely hid it well. "But Lucy," he pouted. "You promised you'd come to the party today."

"Yes," she mumbled into her pillow. "I did, and I'm going to. But I haven't slept in more than a full twenty-four hours and if I go to the guild now, I'm positive I'll end up exploding."

"But Lushi," Natsu persisted. "Everyone's already there!"

"Look," she faced him as he sat cross-legged at the foot of her bed. "Why would I go to the trouble of getting presents for everyone in the guild if I didn't plan of going at some point?"

It was supposed to be a valid argument to get him to shut up and let her sleep but apparently, all he had heard was that she had gotten him a gift. His eyes lit up and he began to jump up and down like a mad man, the vibrations bouncing Lucy around like a super ball. "Really?" he yelled. "What'd ya get me? What'd ya get me?"

The annoyed teen gripped her pillow and held it over her head like it would somehow make her energetic friend go away. "If I give it to you, will you let me sleep for a couple hours?" Taking the pillow away for a second she saw him nodding his head up and down at a rapid pace. "Fine."

Her body already aching, Lucy forced herself to get up and crossed the room to her dresser. Opening the top drawer, she rummaged around before her hand emerged with a small box. Making her way back to her bed, she sat down and handed it to him, silently praying that he would like it.

The dragon slayer stared quizzically at it for a second, but then decided against guessing and simply ripped the top off. Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Oh cool!" Natsu's eyes lit up. "It's a dragon!" Well, a dragon pendant made of red, yellow and orange blown glass. But yes, a dragon nonetheless. At first Lucy thought it was stupid to get the overly destructive Natsu Dragneel something that was so fragile, but then again, she couldn't help but get this feeling that if he cared about it enough, then maybe it wouldn't be within the crash zone.

Like a kid in a toy shop, he unclasped the chain and clipped it around his neck. "It's like this right?"

"Yeah," Lucy grinned. "Just promise me you at least won't _try_ to break the thing."

"I promise," he said, his voice happy yet oddly serious, and for a second, Lucy actually believed him.

"Good." As she went to go lay back down, she felt a warm hand grip hers and quickly wrap something around her wrist.

"That's your gift," Natsu said, not making eye contact.

Lucy stared in awe at the silver charm bracelet wrapped around her wrist. Most of the segments were still empty but there were already five charms hooked into it: an ice-skating ballerina, two crossed swords, a cat, a dragon and… a Santa hat.

"Thank you, Natsu," she chuckled. "I love it."

He smiled and jumped up to the window sill. "Good; I'll catch ya later."

Once he left, Lucy laid back down, her wrist above her head as she stared up at the dangling charms, more specifically, the Santa hat. _Oh, that liar_, she thought, smiling to herself. _He's known about my plan for way longer than he let on._

The December wind suddenly rushed into the room, making Lucy's teeth chatter. She would have to remind herself later to chew out Natsu for leaving her window open. Resting her hands along the glass, she was just about to shut it when a voice reached her ears, a familiar voice.

_Thank you, Lucy._

Pupils dilating, the girl looked around and rested on a figure standing in the street. Their hood was up so she couldn't see their face but when the person spoke again, Lucy knew who it was.

_Jewelry over flowers any day, dear. Merry Christmas._

"Merry Christmas."

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><p><strong>That's all folks! So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night ;).<strong>


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